An inspiration to a career

Chris Macaluso

08/18/2005

Sports reporters always have something to say; their opinions formed and voiced often at the drop of a hat no matter the subject.

So, it came as a refreshing
surprise, albeit somber and sad, when the news of long-time LSU women's
basketball coach Sue Gunter's passing made its rounds among the sports writing
and reporting community. Some of my colleagues actually had to take a moment to
collect themselves and try to choke back emotions before they could
speak.

I know it took me more than a few
moments to gather my thoughts when I heard the news of her death Aug. 4. It took
even longer for me to hold back a few tears when I read the stories and
reflections voiced by those who played for, worked with and covered her
throughout her career.

It's a shame, but I've never met a
sportswriter who said he decided to join the ranks just to cover women's
athletics. We all wanted to be a part of the big news like football and
basketball and, around Baton Rouge, college baseball.

When I started working at the LSU
student newspaper, The Reveille, in 1997, I envisioned long conversations with
Skip Bertman, during which we debated the merits of the sacrifice bunt with a
man on first and one out in the eighth inning.

I thought I'd be sitting across a
desk from Gerry DiNardo asking him how he was going to make three
all-SEC-caliber running backs happy with just one football to hand off.

The thought of running from class
to women's basketball practice in time to catch Gunter before she dismissed the
team never crossed my mind. It wasn't part of my plan.

But, I was the low man on the
ladder and my editor loved baseball. My assistant editor loved football and the
other sportswriter loved basketball so that left me - the new guy. It was off to
the soccer field for me, or gymnastics practice and down to the auxiliary gym to
catch Gunter before she dismissed the team.

And though I did have my
conversations about baseball merits with Bertman and I did get the chance to
talk to DiNardo and eventually Nick Saban about a variety of gridiron topics,
none of those conversations ever came close to meaning as much to me as the time
spent discussing basketball (and life) with coach Gunter.

So often in sports, players and
coaches take on larger-than-life personae. It's difficult, especially for young
sports writers, to get past the idea these folks are not icons nor are they
beyond reproach. They are simply people, just like everyone else. Sometimes that
discovery is disappointing, especially when it happens after coaches and players
are involved in situations that draw notoriety more than fame and ire more than
praise.

But, there was nothing unpleasant
about getting the chance to find out who Sue Gunter really was. Every time she
answered a question, whether it was about basketball or the weather, she
answered it candidly and she gave you the opportunity to find out who she really
was with each word.

I was simply overwhelmed at times
at how approachable she was and at how the door to her office was always open.
She was never condescending, even when I asked the most mundane questions. She
always remembered my name and she was always grateful I was there to cover her
team. She knew the stories were often presented to blind eyes and that the
stands in the PeteMaravichAssemblyCenter would still be sparsely populated
no matter how hard she tried and how many stories I wrote.

Unfortunately, coach Gunter very
rarely had the opportunity to lead her teams onto the floor in front of a packed
house. That luxury was reserved for road games, mostly against Tennessee. It was
something she always wanted to see, not for her sake, but for the sake of her
players who worked tirelessly playing the sport she loved.

But, despite the lack of
recognition and the frustration she surely felt because of it, Gunter never
pointed fingers and she never unleashed that frustration on the media, at least
not while I was there. While other women's sports coaches at LSU begged and
pleaded for more coverage and accusingly asked me why their teams weren't
front-page-news, Gunter went about the business of coaching her team and
answering my questions. She seemed to understand, fairly or not, she would
always take a backseat to her male counterparts. She knew that those of us who
spoke with her regularly and wrote about every game were doing the best we could
as well. That's all she asked and the only reason was because she knew her
players deserved more.

Now, the crowds have arrived and
there is a rare and special feeling surrounding the program she built. Tiger
fans have an opportunity to watch a team this season, same as the one the last
two seasons, that has as much of a chance to win a national championship as any
other in the country. It is an opportunity so few fans get the chance to
experience.

It's a shame coach Gunter will not
have the chance to lead that team on the floor.

That has been, and will be again,
the task of Pokey Chatman, who has assumed not only Gunter's control of the team
and her mannerisms, but also her unwavering respect for her players, the fans,
writers and reporters who are a part of LSU Women's Basketball.

My dad, a long-time newspaper
journalist in Baton
Rouge, is fond of telling a story about an opportunity he
received in the late 1970's to speak one-on-one with a young, brash Bobby
Knight. The resulting story is one of the reasons he is proud to be a sports
writer.

While Sue Gunter never held
Knight's rank or recognition in the sports lexicon and it's doubtful few read
the results, my example of why I'm proud to be a sports writer came in late
spring in 1998. Gunter and I sat in her office for an hour or so over a couple
of cups of coffee and discussed the reasons why basketball is such a fantastic
game. She said how lucky she was to have the chance to be a coach and how lucky
I was to be blessed with an ability to write about that.

For that memory and for everything
else she did to bless our community, I want to say thanks.

Thank you Coach.

---

Chris Macaluso is a staff
writer at Tiger Rag Magazine. The son of longtime State-Times and Advocate
writer Joe Macaluso, Chris got his start at The Reveille and has since been a
fixture on the Baton
Rouge sports landscape. He can be reached by e-mail at
cmacal@hotmail.com.